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Wangari Maathai Wiki
Welcome to the Wangari Maathai Wiki Wangari Muta Maathai (1 April 1940-25 September 2011) was the first woman to earn a doctorate degree in East and Central Africa 1. She was an active politician and environmentalist and later became the chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy in 1976 and an associate professor in 1977, being the first woman to earn these titles in the region 2. With these positions Maathai was able to create the Green Belt Movement and later in 2004 Maathai became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Early Life and Education 1940-1969 Born on April 1, 1940 in the Kenyan village of Ihithe, Wangari Maathai was one of six children. Growing up in her village was one of peace and plenty. The strong and consistent rains gave the area a large amount of readily available clean water and made fields and crops plentiful. The maize, wheat, vegetables, and beans from the crops made hunger almost unknown to Maathai 3. However, when the British colonized Kenya in 1895 they slowly started to change Kenya and one of the ways they did so was by creating an income tax that could only be paid in cash. Before this time, Kenyans had generally paid with animals, mainly goats. No longer able to exchange with animals, men were forced to work in government positions or on settlers’ farms to pay off the tax and by the 1940’s this type of employment was common in Kenya 4. Maathai’s father was part of the first generation forced to pay this tax and worked on a settlers’ farm in Nakuru in the Rift Valley. In 1943, a couple years after Maathai was born, Maathai’s entire family moved to the settlers’ farm to be with her father. Here, the family helped Maathai’s father work in the fields until 1947 when they moved back to Ihithe while Maathai’s father stayed on the farm 5. After moving back to Ihithe, Maathai started attending Ihithe Primary School with her brothers at the age of eight and later moved to St. Cecilia's Intermediate Primary School, a Catholic boarding school in Nyeri, at the age of eleven 6. From this point on it was obvious that Maathai was extremely intelligent and after completing primary school she was accepted to Loreto High School, the only Catholic high school for girls in Kenya, where she was encouraged to pursue science 7. She then was selected to attend Mount St. Scholastica College in Kansas on a scholarship and majored in biology until she graduated in 1964. Maathai then went on to receive her Masters degree in biology at the University of Pittsburg in 1966. However, after these years in the United States, Maathai wished to return to Kenya and therefore, she continued her education for her Ph.D at the University of Nairobi where she also taught veterinary anatomy 1. Finally, with the support of one of her professors, Maathai went to the University of Giessen in Germany to finish her doctorate in 1967 and returned to Nairobi in 1969. Personal Life, Activism, and Political Life 1966-1987 In 1966, Maathai met her future husband Mwangi Mathai. They married in 1969 and had three children 8. However, before her third child, Muta, was born, her husband Mwangi campaigned and won a position in Parliament in 1974 9. Shortly after this victory, Mwangi proposed a project to slow the rising unemployment rate of Kenya. Envirocare Ltd. was created to fulfill this preposition. It was a company that promoted the planting of trees to conserve the environment and gave ordinary people jobs, which increased employment in Kenya. Maathai became deeply involved with this project but when it failed she decided to speak to the National Council of Women of Kenya (NCWK). In 1977 Maathai proposed tree planting to NCWK, which they supported. Thus, in this same year, on World Environmental day, the NCWK marched from Kenyatta International Conference Centre in downtown Nairobi to Kamukunji Park on the outskirts of the city. It was in this park where the NCWK planted seven trees in honor of historical community leaders, which was the first “Green Belt” 10. However, in 1977 Maathai and her husband separated and in 1979, Mwangi filled for divorce. The court hearings were cruel towards Maathai and she was imprisoned for calling the judge incompetent, only to be released three days later 11. Sometime after the divorce though, Maathai ran for chairman of the NCWK but when she lost by three votes, she became the vice-chairman instead. This didn’t deter Maathai from the position though and a couple years later Maathai became the chairman of this organization and then was re-elected every year until she retired in 1987 12. Additionally, during this time Maathai was also trying to gain political influence as well and in 1982 she ran for a Parliamentary position in Nyeri. As required by law, Maathai withdrew from her position at the University of Nairobi to campaign for office. However, the courts decided she was ineligible to campaign for the position because she hadn’t registered for the presidential election in 1979. Maathai didn’t believe that this ruling was legal though and she brought it to court. This didn’t help Maathai in the end because when the judge disqualified her from running Maathai was left without a job and was forced to move out of the staff housing at the University of Nairobi 13. Green Belt Movement The march by the NCWK in 1977 marked the beginning of the Green Belt Movement but unemployment posed a significant problem for Maathai. However, while looking for work, Maathai met Wilhelm Elsrud, director of the Norwegian Forestry Society. Elsrud wanted to partner with the Green Belt Movement and he offered Maathai the position of coordinator within his society. The United Nations Voluntary Fund for Women also stepped in to support Maathai’s organization and gave considerable funding to expand it and increase its influence. From this point on, the Green Belt Movement was an organization built in response to the needs of rural Kenyan women. It encouraged women to grow seedlings and plants trees. By doing so, women in rural communities would receive a small payment for their work and would be able to support themselves more readily. Additionally, the Green Belt Movement also aimed to educate people through seminars. These seminars, called Community Empowerment and Education (CEE) seminars, gave people the tools to change their economic, political, and environmental circumstances. Those who participated in CEE realized that those who led them were actually negatively influencing their lives through failing to use natural resources wisely and not working towards the common good. Thus, on a deeper level, the Green Belt Movement made people realize their need for democracy, more accountability from national leaders, and the importance of the environment 14. In the present, the Green Belt Movement continues to be an indigenous Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that focuses on conservation and development nationwide 15. Government Intervention and Pro-Democracy Movement 1988-2003 In the 1980’s the Green Belt Movement, although originally only an environmental organization, began to carry out pro-democracy activities such as pressuring the government for reform and registering people to vote. Maathai believed that the government already in place created fraud in elections to stay in power and she aimed part of the Green Belt Movement to end this 16. However, this created various enemies of Maathai within the government. One of the largest problems Maathai faced was in 1989. It was at this time that Maathai learned that Uhuru Park was going to be destroyed to create a 60-story office building. This news infuriated Maathai and she wrote letters to various organizations and leaders to stop this from occurring. However, this angered the government and in 1992 Maathai, along with other members of the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD) group, was put on an assassination list by a government-sponsored group. Many of these members, including Maathai, were then arrested. However, when the United States threatened that this would damage relations, Kenyan officials dropped the charges. This was only the beginning for Maathai though. Maathai continued to anger the Kenyan government and even began hunger strikes on the corner of Uhuru Park to pressure the government into releasing political prisoners. This gave Maathai international attention and after a year of protesting, these prisoners were released. Maathai was given international awards and recognition, much to the dismay of the Kenyan government 17. From here on, Maathai continued to desperately fight for democracy in Kenya and starting offically in 1992, Maathai strove to create free and fair elections in the government by opposing the current party, called the Kenya African National Union. However, it wasn’t until 2002 that Maathai was able to overturn this long-ruling, single-party government. In 2002 Maathai campaigned for parliament as the candidate for the National Rainbow Coalition, an organization made up of the National Alliance Party of Kenya and the Liberal Democratic Party. Since 1960, the Kenya African National Union ruled Kenya but in 2002 the National Rainbow Coalition beat them with 98% of the votes. Maathai was then given the position of Assistant Minister in the Ministry for Environment and Natural Resources and created the Mazingira Green Party of Kenya in 2003, which is now part of the Federation of Green Parties of Africa 17. Nobel Peace Prize Maathai’s hard work continued to change Kenya and in 2004 Maathai was nominated and then awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Maathai was given this prestigious award because she worked hard to promote sustainability, democracy, and peace in her country. As described by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, “Peace on earth depends on our ability to secure our living environment. Maathai stands at the front of the fight to promote ecologically viable social, economic and cultural development in Kenya and in Africa. She has taken a holistic approach to sustainable development that embraces democracy, human rights and women's rights in particular. She thinks globally and acts locally” 18. Maathai worked diligently to change the oppressive government of her country while helping poor rural women through the Green Belt Movement. Her actions changed Kenya and internationally the Green Belt Movement has been adopted and taken root in other African countries that have also realized the price of disforestation. Maathai is a woman who demonstrates leadership and her strong voice has created a better country, and on a larger scale, a better continent 18. Later Life 2005-2011 Maathai continued working in politics, with the Green Belt Movement, and for peace until she died in 2011. Maathai had been receiving treatment for ovarian cancer in a Nairobi hospital and after some complications, she died on September 25, 2011 at the age of 71 19. Notes References *Wangari Maathai, Unbowed: A Memoir, Knopf, 2006. ISBN 0-307-26348-7 *Wangari Maathai, The Greenbelt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience, Lantern Books, 2003. ISBN 1-59056-040-X External Links *"Conservation and feminism: African greenheart ." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper Limited 2013, 26 Sept. 2006. Web. 28 Nov. 2013. *"Kenya's Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai Dies Aged 71 ." BBC News. BBC, 26 Sept. 2011. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. * Law, Eric. "Professor Wangari Maathai ." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013. *"Our History ." The Green Belt Movement. The Green Belt Movement, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013. *"Wangari Maathai - Biographical ". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2013. Web. 23 Nov 2013 *"Wangari Maathai ." Hamsini Awards. Triple Three Marketing Ltd, n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. *"Wangari Maathai ." The Green Belt Movement. The Green Belt Movement, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. *"The Nobel Peace Prize for 2004 ." The Nobel Peace Prize. Norwegian Nobel Committee, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013. Category:Browse Category:Wangari Maathai Category:Wangari maathai